According to Dr. Jerry Klein, Chief Veterinary Officer of AKC, they are starting to get reports of canine influenza outbreaks in some areas of the country. Symptoms to watch for:lethargy, fever, decrease in appetite, cough, runny eyes/nose, possibly vomiting. Untreated, your dog may even develop pneumonia. As in humans, dog flu can be fatal, but […]

This is a great story! Full of great information. My pit bull has always been good with cats. He even snuggles with my parents cats lol. I'm glad your pitty Was able to get used to the cats. I love happy endings! Especially when pit bulls are involved! Keep spreading the good word of pit bulls! BAD RAP Blog

I received an email last week from a long time reader who said she had no idea we had a card/art shop and was so excited to discover it, which I have to admit made me chuckle. I not only started the Bubby and Bean Art Shop before I started the Bubby and Bean blog and social channels, but the blog was supposed to just be a small offshoot of the shop that I’d use to help promote it. And that’s why I had to laugh – because there was a time when the art shop (and my clothing line) were how I paid the bills, and the blog was not much more than a thought in the back of my head. These days, the blog is how I support myself and my family, and the art shop is such a tiny part of my work that in the off season (basically any time outside of the holidays and the period right around Valentine’s Day), I sometimes forget I have it. The universe just as a way of deciding things for us sometimes, even when they’re nothing like we initially planned.

That said, after putting the card and art shop in vacation mode for several weeks after the holiday rush, I just reopened it and added a bunch of Valentine’s Day cards. So if you’d like to give or send your loved ones hip, handcrafted, eco-friendly cards this year, I’d love for you to check them out. Oh yeah, and you can take 25% of your order today through 1/25/18 with code LOVE2018. Woot!

Happy early love day, and may the universe have all sorts of the best plans for you this year.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s preeminent legal advocacy organization for animals, released the 12th annual year-end report (2017) ranking the animal protection laws of all 50 states. For the 10th year in a row, Illinois is in first place—followed by Oregon (2), California (3), Maine (4), and Rhode Island (5). Kentucky holds firmly […]

Sudden weight loss in a dog that is not attributable to increased exercise or activity should be brought to the attention of your veterinarian. Some dogs do experience cyclical weight changes because they live in seasonal climates and are exercised and walked less during the cold winter months.

Those of you who are regular readers/followers have likely heard me discuss my issues with dry skin before, especially during the winter. Recently, I shared some of the ways I care for the skin on my face this time of year. And today, I’m excited to be partnering with Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant to talk about caring for skin as a whole during the colder, drier months – beyond the face, to include the entire body. (I wish I could say that it was only my face that needed extra care in the winter, but every part of my body is affected. I’m sure many of you can relate!) In addition to sharing some of my own tips that I’ve learned through personal trial and error, I’m also going to share some simple but highly effective tips from Dove Dermatologist Dr. Alicia Barba.

1. Use a humidifier. I run a cool mist humidifier in my bedroom every single night in the winter months. It’s amazing what massive increase in the dryness and irritation level of my skin I noticed on those occasional nights where I forget to turn it on. Using it nightly results in much softer skin that isn’t itchy or irritated.

2. Care for your underarms. I admittedly never even thought about caring for the skin on my underarms until I read a tip from Dr. Barba, where she reminds us that the sensitive underarm skin is an important area that shouldn’t be overlooked. Everything from dry winter air to fabrics on winter clothing like sweaters can irritate the skin. She recommends Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant to keep the underarms hydrated and protected. And I’m a huge fan of it too. I absolutely love that it gives me 48 hours of odor and wetness protection. But what makes Dove Advanced Care #1 in my book is its added skin care benefits. It has a unique formula that contains moisturizers to help prevent and alleviate irritation, so my underarms feel smoother and softer when I use it. (You can grab some of your own right here!)

3. Stick to warm showers. Hot water dries out skin, and quickly. Taking a cool to warm shower instead can help prevent excess skin dryness. This small change has actually made a huge difference for me.

4. Bring a little summer to winter – with sunscreen. Even if your summertime bikini and beach bag are hidden at the back of your closet this time of year, Dr. Barba suggests keeping your sunscreen out and readily available to use daily. She also recommends switching to a moisturizing sunscreen that is richer than what you’d use in the summer months.

5. Make a bedtime routine for your skin. Dr. Barba says that bedtime is the best time of day to hydrate skin. Her recommendation for decreasing collagen breakdown at bedtime is as follows: 1. Wash your face. 2. Apply a retinol. 3. Moisturize. Easy and effective!

6. Pay attention to elbows and heels. It only takes a week into the wintertime and my elbows and heels are instantly cracked. I apply a thick moisturizer or coconut oil to both of these areas every day while I’m getting ready, and immediately after every shower, which helps to soften my skin in these areas tremendously.

7. Drink plenty of water. Hydrating from the inside out is important when it comes to skincare, especially in the winter when the air is drier. I continually fill up my water bottle throughout the day to keep my entire body hydrated.

8. Avoid intense exfoliation. Another helpful tip from Dr. Barba is to lay off any sort of intense exfoliation in the winter. She says that when you over-exfoliate, it can actually dehydrate skin by stripping it of essential oils. This can also lead to breakouts during this cold, dry time of year.

Winter can be incredibly harsh on skin, but there are ways to guard against dryness and other issues so your skin feels as healthy and soft as it does in the warmer months. I hope these tips prove as useful to you as they have me. And I would love to hear tips of your own that I might have missed!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make Bubby and Bean possible.